Apparatus for humidifying textile yarns



Jan. 11, 1938. 'r. LYDON ET AL APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING TEXTILE YARNS Filed July 23 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS;

Tzzrnofg Lydon, iazrzcz'ef ydon. BY D. "QM M1 ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING T EXTILE YARNS Filed July 23, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 U 5A 0 V ,Q-J JA O n 24 g 5 p5 4 ya .51] 4 0 Time I trick INVE NTOR 5:

lydoiz, Lydon ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1938. T. LYDON El AL APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING TEXTILE YARNS Filed July 23, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORS d f AZORNEY Patented Jan. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR HUMIDIFYING TEXTILE YARNS Timothy Lydon,

Tenafly, and Patrick J. Lydon, Jersey City, N. J.

Application July 23, 1936, Serial No. 92,136

Claims. (CI. 28-57) This invention relates to improvementsin methods of conditioning textile yarns prior to and Several different kinds of knitting machines are.

in use in the manufacture of hosiery, one of .the most common of which is known as the full fash ion hosiery knitting machine. While the applicants"invention can be applied to the several different kinds of hosiery machines as well as to looms for weaving cloth, the applicants for the sake, of clearness herein only show the application of their invention to full fashion hosiery machines.

It is a well established fact in the textile indus- 2 trythat humidification is essential to the yarn to bring about the most perfect handling of the yarn in the knitting or weaving machines. Dry yarn kinks or snarls, so that, breakage, knotting, or curling occurs. The occurrence of these irregularities create very'visible defects inthe finished knitted or woven goods. Textile knitting and weaving machinery is highly developed to operate at a high speed. Irregularities which occur during the knitting or weaving process, may greatly so hinder production by frequent stoppage of the machines, or may aifect very seriously the quality and value of the product due to consequent defects in the finished product.

In recent years the need for more perfect meth- 35 'ods for the humidification and conditioning of yarn duringthe process of textile manufacture has been more keenly felt than previously. Knitting and weaving machines have been improved to operate at faster speeds. These machines represent large investments in capital. Their efficient and economical operation depends on a very well coordinated and balanced system of mechan ical parts. v m

It is found that in the knitting of full fashioned 5 hosiery that when the yarn is properly humidified,

it bends uniformly and easily about the needles.

Every loop is uniform and regular The yarn,

as it were, hugs the needle when it is looped about 1 it, when the yarn is not properly humidified, the

50, loops are not so uniform and the yarn does not hug the needle, but irregular loops are formed. These irregularities are very distinct in the finished stocking. It is also found that yarns humidified to different degrees or extent stretch or ex- .55, tend under tension and working to varying de- I threads twisted together.

grees. To keep the amount of stretch or extension of the yarn uniform it is important to maintain the humidity of the yarn uniform. Lack of uniformity in the yarn has the effect of producing stockings of varying lengths and sizes other than those intended by the manufacturer.

The demands of style and fashion as well as quality has made it more and more necessary in the past few years to produce yarns of very high twist. These yarns may consist of one or more The high twist yarns are twisted very many-more turns per inch than are the low twist yarns. A high twist yarn is much more lively than a low twist yarn, under the likely to snarl or kink thana low twist yarn and,

if the twist has been set, it is much more likely to become lively again due to a tension being applied to it or due to drying out. It follows therefore that troubles which might not occur on low'twist yarns might cause considerable loss of time and money when high twist yarns were used.

It has furthermore been found that troubles from kinks, snarls and so forth can be avoided to a great extent if after the twist is properly set, the yarn is kept in a conditioned state and not allowed to dry out. Dry'yarn resembles wire of a springy nature. This same yarn when conditioned so that its moisture regain is high, loses its 'wire like nature, and its tendency to curl and condition, the amount of trouble and loss from poor quality increases. Variable weather conditions result in ayari'ed quality of finished products and a complete lack of control by the manufacturer over the quality of'his product.

outside changes from a humid condition to a dry While some of the difficulty can be avoided by I a thorough humidification of the textile plant, complete room conditioning seems to be not the answer. With the advent of the higher twists,

such high degrees of humidity are being found are verydifiicult to maintain particularly during the cold seasons. (2) They create uncomfortable working conditions for the labour. (3) They cause rusting and serious damage to the delicate plied to it on the knitting machine.

parts of the machinery. (4) During the cold seasons high humidity inside the rooms causes copious condensation and sweating on windows and walls unless double windows are provided and all the walls are insulated.

Another rather serious objection to general room humidification especially in connection with the knitting of silk hosiery on full fashion hosiery machines has been experienced. The silk stocking when in the process of being knitted is kept under a tension so that as it develops in length it is drawn away. The tension required is such that if the stocking is too wet the threads will stretch. It has been found that although it is desirable to humidify the thread to a high degree in order to obtain satisfactory knitting, at the same time the knitted stocking should be comparatively dry at a distance of approximately three inches from the needles. In other words conditions should be such that the humidified yarn after being knitted will dry out by the time this yarn in the knitted stocking reaches a point three inches away from the needles or place at which it was knitted. If not .dry at this point stretching due to tension may take place. It is obvious therefore that in a highly humidified room the yarn could not dry out and the yarn in the stocking would remain high in moisture content for such a time as would make it impossible to prevent stretching of the partly knitted stocking due to the tension ap- In our invention the high humidity is confined to the cone boxes where its efiects on the yarn are beneficial only.

Our invention can be adapted to weaving machines by placing the quills or cops which are to be used on the looms, in boxes or containers on the looms, and humidifying these boxes by means of our herein described controlled hu-= midifying equipment. We can also adapt our equipment to other textile machines, such as spinnersjby placing a, container on the machine in which the bobbins are stored previous to being placed on the spindle. In this manner the yarn can be kept at the desired regain at all times up to the moment it is placed on the spindle and this can be done without the installation of highly expensive equipment necessary to 'humidify the whole spinning room.

In the forms of our invention at present in actual use it has been found that materials such as cones of silk can remain in one location under the influence of our system for a long time without developing signs of fungus growth. Con- -stant washing of the air and filtration of same effects this result. Our system is adapted therefore to not only humidity the air but to purify it. To increase the effectiveness of our system as a means of preventing injurious bacterial or fungus growth on the material being treated, a chemical or suitable disinfectant such as cresylic acid, para chlora meta zylenol or para chlora meta cresol may be introduced into the circulation water, or a gas such as zone may be released fromtime to time within the humidlfying" system. Either one or both of these methods may be employed periodically or constantly as may be thought most desirable. A neutral mineral or animal oil may also be introduced into the system for providing a penetrating agent to soften or otherwise improve the working quality of the yarn.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a practical method of humiditying textile yarn during the process of manufacture into spun, knitted, or woven goods.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a comparatively inexpensive method of humidification for yarns on machines during the process of manufacture, which method may be easily applied to old machines without necessitating expensive changes in existing equipment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of maintaining textile yarns during the knitting or weaving processes at a high humidity without adversely affecting comfort conditions for the Workers in the knitting or weaving room.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for maintaining textile yarns at a high-humidity during manufacture, said method being relatively inexpensive in first cost and in cost of operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for maintaining a high humidity on textile yarns during manufacture, said method being such that it can be applied to either one or several machines in a room.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for maintaining a uniform humidity on textile yarns during manufacture into knitted or woven material.

A further object of the present invention is to provide equipment which will maintain textile yarns at uniform humidities during the knitting or weaving processes and without the formation of condensation on the yarn.

A further object of the present invention is 4 to provide a method of humidifying yarn during weaving or knitting, said method being responsive to accurate automatic control. 7

A further object of the present invention is to provide a humidifying method for textile yarns, in which by constant circulation of the air and by constant washing and filtration of said air, the growth of bacteria, fungi and other yarn damaging micro organisms is prevented.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for humidiiying yam,

by means of which the humidifying medium is constantly cleaned and washed of deleterious organisms, and into which may be introduced a disinfecting medium in the form of a gas or a fluid to further aid the cleansing effect of passing the circulated air through finely divided water sprays.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a yarn humidifying system, into the humidifying medium of which may be introduced a chemical by means of which air rectification is effected so asto diminish or entirely prevent the passage and growth of injurious organisms throughout the apparatus and on the materials so humidified.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gas circulating apparatus for use in connection with the fabrication of textiles and of such a nature that such apparatus can, when so desired, be used to convey gases of beneficial value to said textiles in such proportions or concentrations as are thought mostdesirable.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of maintaining yarn on textile machines under automatically controlled humidity which automatic control can be changed to result in a desired humidity.

Thus, objects of the present inventions are to provide a method and apparatus for humidifying .will hereinafter appearsv possible-tamaintain the yarn athigh. humidities without affecting the comfort of WQI FW in the o ma. such 'as;.wi1l effect large savings, by

elimination ofdosttimeand. general. improvement in the quality of the finisl'ied Product.

Other. objects and advantages of our invention i We may attain-these objects by ing= equipment and. the appurtenances, thereof,

the humidifytvvogformsj ofyvh-ich are shown in the drawingsg or by any; mechanicalequivalentsor obvious modificationsofthe same, or by other devices which will accomplish the method of the herein methodclaimse nthe drawings:

is a .view in elevation of one form of our humidifyingsystem as applied to afull fashion hosiery knitting machine;

' Fig.2 isa, side elevationfshowing. system and its relationship'to a full fashion knitting machine. and the. cone storage. box;

system Fig. 3] shows a; view in longitudinal vertical section of one of the cone storage boxes as used in the forms of our invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2; I H s Fig. 4 is an axial section of a coneof yarn .showing the cone tube and conetube holder also in section;

form of humidifying unit such as can be used in our system as applied to a single machine; Fig. 6 is a plan diagrammatically showing an, otherform of our invention as applied to several full fashion hosiery knitting machines;

Fig.7 is an elevation of the form shown inFig.

.6 showing the relationship of our system to the cone boxes; i i

Fig. 8 is a view in longitudinal vertical section of our humidification unit, by means of which the v air is humidified. and circulated through our.

Fig. -9' is a plan of our automatic control instrument which controls the humidity of the air delivered to the system; r F g. 10 is a vertical sectional view of our auto matic control instruments showing its relationship to the circulating ducts; g 11 Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the control instrument showing its relation to the adjoining air circulating ducts; and j Fig. 12 is a wiring diagram of the. electric'ciricu'it used in conjunction with our automatic control.

Like characters ofreference refer'to like parts throughout the difierent views.

The arrangement and principal feature of: our apparatus will first be briefly indicated-with reference to the species of F lg. 6, after which the several species and features'will be described in detail.

Briefly diagrammatically indicated, the apparatus of Fig.v 6 is shown in combination with a water from said reservoir lflliywhereby the wetand dry bulb temperaturesof the humidified air at the discharge opening 44 are substantially the ply boxes li, from which :boxes ducts 6A,.4A, 38 conduct the air from the yarn .chamberto said inlet opening 43 of the unit, thereby completing.

the aireircuit. A. blower IA, is the means for,

thus causing the air to circulate from said discharge opening 44 through the ducts and chambers back to the inlet opening 43 of the unit. a

An electric heater "A .(Fig. 8) in saidreservoir lllGis controlled by heat sensitive means-51 and 6!..(Fig. 10) in said ducts respectively. This control is eifected', as will e explained, through means shown in Figs. 10 a said sensitive means for closing contacts 'H,.'l2 to .cause a relay motor shown in Fig. 12 to supply current to the heater 20A to heat only whenever the wet bulb temperature in the pressure duct 31 is more than a few degrees lower than the dry bulb temperature in the suction duct 38, as will be explained. 1

Now the arrangement, features and means of the diiferent species will be described in detail.

In Fig. 1 is sh wn one form of our invention in its relation to th cones being used on a full'fashion hosiery knitting machine. For the sake of clearness the many complicated mechanical features of the knitting machine are omitted. Parts of-the machine whichare shown in this View include the rear supports l4 and the 'cone box s shel1'l5. Fig. is a view in vertical section of another' A humidifying unit 2 suspended from the roof r ceiling is provided with a pressure duct 3 in which is-interposed a pressure blower 1 driven byva. motor 8. This duct 3 conducts air taken from the humidification unit and distributes it through cone box pressure tubes 5- to pressure chambers 9 in the bottom of the cone 'inet [2 (right of Fig. 1).

(Fig. 1) which is provided with a-pressure blower desired.

boxes l6 and through branch tubes III to presl sure chambers ll contained in the storage cabconnected to the suction inlet ll of the humidification unit 2. r

The humidifying unit 2A may be used in the apparatus of Fig. 1 or we may provide the unit I direct connected to a motor 8. A water circulating pum l8 direct connected to a motor I9 is used tocirculate waterinside the humidifying unit2. An electric immersion heater 20 is used to heat the. water when increased humidity is Theconejchambers [6 of the boxes l6 are shown containing cones 2] of silk from which the silk threads 22 are unwound and drawn through small openings 23 (Fig. 2) through troughs 24' same. 4, Pressure ducts 131, 3A, 5A conduct air- .from the discharge opening 44 into theyarn sup- 11 cooperating with A suction return duct 4, connected to branch suction tubes 6, is in turn" in which the thread is finally treated before being knitted into hosiery. Additional cones are shown in storage in the storage cabinet l2.

InFig. 2 is shown a side view of the knitting machine 25 and its relation to parts of our hu-' midifying system. Supports l4 and shelf l5 are shown supporting the cone box IS. The pressure duct 3 and the suction duct 4 are shown together With the pressure tubes 5 and the suction tubes 6.

The silk threads '22 pass through the trough 24 and are led-through eyes 26, whence they go to the carriers 2! which play an important part in knitting the hosiery. x I n Atthe base of the cone box l6 (Figs. 1 and 3) -is shown the pressure chamber '9, at .the top of 1 which are openings surrounded by cone 'tube' ho1ders28. Hollowperforated cone supports,"34

(Fig. 4) for cones of yarn 2| in the yarn chamber,

In Fig. 4 we show in axial section a cone of yarn 2| contained upon a perforated cone tube or support 34 which is held in place on the cone tube holder 28. Inside the cone tube holder is a filler block provided with a small axial orifice 36 to limit the air flow to a'cone holder where the yarn is exhausted therefrom. I

Instead of the humidifying unit shown in Fig. 1 or 8 we may use that of Fig. 5 which is of a simple nature; and by the elimination of a pump and sprays we have provided an inexpensive unit which can be used where it is desired to use one humidifying unit for each full fashion hosiery machine. Airis drawn into the unitthrough the inlet I24 by a fan such as the blower 1 or 1A attached to the outlet I25. The humidifier casing I26 is airtight, being furnished with a .tight cover I21. An electric percolator heater unit- I28 is provided in the'bottom of the casing. The casing is provided with one or more collars I29 on the inside, these collars communicating with the collection chamber I30 on the outside. The

outlet I25 provides communication from the outside with the collection chamber I30. A wire fabric cylinder I3I is placed over and supported by the collar I29, and spread over this wire fabric cylinder is a sack shaped cloth fabric I32 of high hygroscopic nature, the sack being open only enough at one end to allow it to slip over the wire fabric cylinder I3I. This 'is held in place around the cylinder by a rubber band I33. This cloth fabric I32 hangs loosely, and extends into the water reservoir I34 having therein water maintained at a level up to about the bottom of the wire fabric cylinder. A drain connection I35 is provided at the bottom; and a water supply connection I38 is provided at the side.

Water is soaked up .by the hygroscopic cloth fabric I32 from the water reservoir I34 and this.

material is kept constantly moist by virtue of capillary attraction. Air drawn through the inlet 124 must pass through the wetted fabric I32 to leave through the outlet I25. In passing through the wetted fabric the air becomes humidified. The electric percolator heater unit I28 is provided to heat the water when high humidity is desired. By providing several wire fabric cylinders to each unit and a corresponding number of cloth fabric covers, the areaof cloth can be increased so that the air passes through the cloth at a relatively slow speed creating little resistance and allowing eflicient humidification of the air.

is located a cone storage cabinet I2A, The humidifying unit isindicated at 2A in outline.

To this humidifying unit is connected the main pressure duct 31 and the main suction duct 38.

Some machines have From the main pressure duct the subsidiary pressure ducts 3A branch out to convey air to each group of cone boxes on each machine. In a similar manner a system of subsidiary suction ducts 4A are shown branching out from the main suction duct 38 to the cone boxes. Pressure tubes 5A convey air from the subsidiary pressure ducts 3A to the'cone boxes, and suction tubes 6A are used to convey the return air from the cone boxes to the subsidiary suction duct 4A. At 39 is indicated'the location in plan of our control.

Fig. 7 shows arear elevation-of the parts or the arrangement of our invention shown in Fig. 6. The humidifying unit 2A is shown connected to themain pressure duct 31. The main suction duct 38 is shown dotted The control is indicated at 39. The subsidiary pressure duct 3A is shown connected to the main pressure duct 31 on one end and running above the cone boxes. A pressure tube 5A is taken of! as indicated from the subsidiary pressure duct 3A for each cone box. Each pressure tube is brought to a point close to the bottom of the cone box as indicated at 48. In a similar manner the subsidiary suction duct 4A is located above the cone boxes and -is connected to the main suction duct 38. A

suction tube BA is connected from near the top of each box to the subsidiary suction duct 4A. Suction and pressure tubes are connected to the cone storage cabinet I2A in a similar manner.

In Fig. 8 we show a humidification unit which maybe used in the form of invention of Figs. 1

and or in the form shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

constant water level is maintained in the water reservoir by the automatic flat valve 48. Electric water heaters 28A increase the temperature of the water when high humidity is called for by the automatic control. The blower 1A- used in this form of our invention is not of the high pressure type. High air pressure is not required in this form of the invention.

- Figs. 9, 10 and 11 show the automatic control and its relation to the main pressure and suction ducts. Vertical posts 49. carry adjustable pivot points 58 with pointed ends 5| (Fig. 9) on which is freely pivotally supported the main shaft 52 carrying fast thereon the arms 53 and 54 lying in the same plane and free to move about the axis of the shaft 52. The posts 49 are screwed to a main plate 55.

Immediately underthe arm 53 near the outer end thereof threaded to the-main. plate 55 is the bushing piece 55,'to the bottom of which isattached a thermostatic expansion element 51 disposed in the suction duct 38. Extending down through and fitting loosely into the bushing piece 56 and the expansion element 51 is the rod 58 .adapted to be raised by a thermostatic bellows element (not shown) in the element 51. Immediately under the arm 54 near its outer end is located the bushing piece 59 threaded into a movable rectangular slide block 60 guided between undercut guide pieces GI. Attached to the bottom of the bushing piece,59 is the expansion element 62 disposed in the pressure duct 31. A

- aromas slot (not shown) is provided in the mainplate 55 to allow the piece 59 and with it the to be moved for about two inches ack ior forth longitudinally of the'arm 54. The pieces piece 54 into which is threaded the screw 65 to which is afflxed the knob 56. The screw 55 bears against the block, 60 and is for the purpose of adjustably moving the block 60.' .Attached to the block 50 is'a rod 51 (Fig. 1 which loosely passes through an opening in the saddle piece 68,

Surrounding the slender shaft 61 and compressed between the block 60 and the saddle piece68 is the spring 69- to hold the block 50 against the screw 65.

. The expansion elements 51 and 52 respectively extend completely into the ducts and 31. Immediately above the rod 58- and on the bottom side of the arm 53 is attached a strip of insulation to the bottom of which is fastened a silver element 51.

contact member II. Immediately below this contact member 1i and attached to the endof the rod 58 is the small silver contact 12; At-

.tached to the block 60 is the reference pointer. 122 the position of which maybe referred 'to a scale I23 attached to the cover. A slotted opening 98 is provided in'the cover to accommodate the reference pointer I22.

The bushing piece 56 is provided with a central opening'into which fits loosely. the rod 58. This rod rests at thebottom, on the top of an expansion bellows, not shown, inside the expansion In a similar mannerthe rod-l3v rests on an expansion bellows, not shown-inside the expansion element 62. The expansion elements 51 and 52 are both provided with a fluid with a high coefficient of temperature expansion. The rod 13 is not provided with a'silver contact and touches the arm 54 at all times. The brackets I4 fastened to the'ducts 31 and 38 form a platform on which is supported the plate 55.

. Attached to theplate 55 below the arm 53 is the terminal 99.. This terminal is insulated from the plate by the insulation piece I00. A pigtail lead llil connects the silver contact II with the insulated terminal 99. The pigtail lead it is flexible to allow easy movement of the arm 53.

In Fig. 12 we show a wiring diagram of' a simplified control circuit such as we use inconjunction with our control instrument and the forms of our invention above indicated. The power lines 15 and 16 are the source of electrical energy and are connected to thefield coil "II, of the shaded pole motor 18 of which 19 represents the magnetic core. The shaded pole motor is provided with two shaded poles 80 which are provided with shading coils 5|, and BIA. These coils 8| and BIA are inseries-with one another being connected at one end to the silver contact, II. and on the other end to-sround at 82. Below the contact II is indicated the rod- 58 with the silver contact 12 and this rod is indicated connected to-ground at 83. The armature 84 of the shaded p'ole motor is free to rotate and is providedonits' shaft'with a gear Awhich-engages-the geared segment 55 of a pivoted meni-. ber 86. Attached to the member 35 is a mercury switch 81. The member 86 is pivoted to and free to turn about the axis 85; A lead I82 is taken-from the line I5 to one terminal of an electric water heating element "A and another lead 9| istaken from theiine 16 to one terminal lock on theswitch '81. lead 92 connects 1 the other terminal 93 of the mercury fswitch to the terminal 34 of the electric water heating element at.

We have shownftwoforms of our invention. Thesecond form of -which is, shown in Figs. '6, 7 and 8. is at present in actualuse' and is provling very successful in conneetion with the knit-- ting of full fashioned silk hosiery for women.

The operation of the form 'of our 'inventio ones of silkwhich' are to be used in knitting are contained onperforated cone tubes 34 and these tubes are placed tightlyin place on the cone tube holders 28'. I

By means of the pressure blower 1- drivenby the motor} air'is dra'wn'through the humidifying unit 2. 'I'heairdrawn through the humidifying unit is humidified by a water's pray whichis provided by the water circulating pump Ill. The air drawn through the pressure blower-1 is blown =intojthe pre'ssure duct 3'and conveyed through this duct to the pressure. tubes 5 and to the presthe air loses some of itshumidity to the yarn and the yarn assumes a more perfect condition for knitting. The air which, passes through the yarn escapes into the upper part of the cone box I6. Return or suction tubes 5 are attached to the cone boxes at openings 32 and this drawn by'suction from the blower through these openings 32 into said suction tubes 6 intoth suction duct 4 and back to the humidification unit 2- where it is again humidified.

The cone storage cabinet H in which cones are stored prior to being placed in the cone boxes,

are also provided with pressure chambers H and j cone tube holders. 28. Air is conveyed to the pressure chambers |I -by' a branch-duct 3D.-and

7 all the yarn becomes unwound therefrom. I

When high humidity is. required the heater :0

' '(Fig. 1) is utilized to heat the water which i's-circulated in the sprays inside the humidifier.- e-An explanation of the method of controlling this heater. is given hereinafter in our description of the second form of our invention.

The secondform of. our invention is indicated in Figs. 6,7 and 8. This is the form WhiCh.iS

I being used with great success at the present time on-- machines for knitting full fashioned silk hosiery. In this form of our invention the oper- .ation is as follows:

Each knitting machine is provided with cone boxes in which-are placed the cones which are being used'in the knitting of the hosiery. A cone box may contain the cones from which one, two

or more stockings are being knitted- Some machines are capable of knitting 9 stockings at the same time, while others may be 'large enough ti knit 20, 24 or 28 stockings. "The number-of cone boxes on'a-machinedepends on the type of the machine or in other words on-a-the 'number of stockings which the machine will knit. In Fig. 6 we have shown in plan a partial view of several machines and cone storage cabinets to which our himidifying system has been applied. While each machine may contain I2 cone boxes only three have been shown. Each machine is also provided with a cone storage cabinet IZA on one end.

Air is drawn through the suction inlet 43 (Fig. 8) of the humidifying unit 2A by the blower IA. The water circulating pump I8A driven by the motor ISA takes water from the water reservoir I06 and forces it through the piping I01 to the spray nozzles 46 and against a glass wool air washing filter 41. The air drawn through the humidifying unit is humidified by contact with the water sprays and by its intimate contact with the wetted surfaces of the glass wool air washing filter 41. Water is supplied to the water reservoir and the water level regulated therein by the float valve 48. The electric water heaters 20A are provided to heat the water when this is found necessary to increase the humidity of the air passing through the unit.

The humidified air drawn through the humidifying unit if forced by the blower 1A. into the main pressure duct 31 from which it passes to the several subsidiary pressure ducts 3A, and to the pressure tubes 5A. The pressure tubes convey the air as indicated in Fig. 7 to a point near the bottom of each of the cone boxes I6 and similarly to a point near the bottom of each of the storage cabinets 12A. Return air from the cone boxes i6 and the storage cabinets i2 is drawn through the suction tubes 6A near the top of each box to the subsidiary suction ducts 4A and thence is drawn by suction to the main suction duct 38 through which it returns back to the suction opening 63 of the humidifying unit, thence through the unit to the blower IA. From the blower it is again discharged to make another circuit of the system as above described.

As the air is circulated in the humidifier and through the water spray and wetted interstices of the filter it becomes humidified. If no heat is applied to the water which is being circulated an adiabatic exchange of heat between the air and the water will take place. This adiabatic exchange of heat between the airand the water results in a. lowering of the dry bulb tempemture of the air passing through the water spray. If the humidification is eflicient the dry bulb temperatureand the wet bulb tempera-hire of the humidified air may be the same or in other words the air may be 100% saturated after passage through the spray. However in passin through the water spray which is normally at a lower temperature than the airQthe dry bulb temperature of the air is reducedto a temperature which is the same as the wet bulb temperature of the air previous to its passage through the humidifying unit. Now although the air which passed through the humidifying unit has become humidified 100%, this has been done by reducine the dry bulb temperature of the air. As this air is circulated through the ducts and cone boxes it expands by absorbing heat through the walls of the ducts and tubes from the outside air of the room, which is at a higher temperature. This expansion of the air during its travel through the duct lowers its relative humidity by increasing its dry bulb temperature to a greater extent than its wet bulb temperature. If the air circulation system were perfect and no infiltration of air occurred from the outside, an exchange of heat would occur ultimately so that the air inside the duct would become saturated at room temperatures by virtue of conduction of heat through the duct from the outside room air to the air inside the duct, and by the gradual exchange of this heat to the water from the circulated air inside the duct. The duct circulation system however can hardly be perfect and leakage occurs. Moreover such an exchange of heat would be very gradual because of the low temperature ordinarily maintained in textile plants. Comfortable conditions call for temperatures between approximately 70 F. and F.

To overcome the reduction in humidity of the recirculated air due to expansion, we have provided the electric water heaters 20A by which the water can be heated. The amount of heat applied to the water is controlled by our special controller shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. We will explain the operation of this control in conjunction with the other parts of our hu'midifying system as follows:

It has been found that a high relative humidity is desirable in the cone boxes but this high relative humidity must'not be accompanied by condensation of moisture on the yarn. Other methods were unsuccessful because of such condensation. If the air delivered to these boxes had a wet bulb temperature in excess of the dry bulb temperature of the air in the room outside the boxes, conduction of heat away from the air inside the ducts and cone boxes would causethe vapor in said inside air to condense inside the ducts, cone boxes, etc. We therefore have devised our control. so that the controlled wet bulb temperature it sets up is dependent on the room temperature. Referring to Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the control is placed in a position above the two main ducts 31 and 38. The expansion element 62 extending into the main pressure duct 31 is affected by the temperature of the air circulating through said duct whereas the expansion element 51 is affected by the temperature of the air circulating in the main suction duct 38. Due to heat transfer through the duct and to leakage of outside air into the system on the suction side the dry bulb temperature of the air in the main suction duct 38 is about the same as that of theroom. In the maiif'pressure duct 31 at a point very near the humidifying unit the wet bulb temperature of the air leaving the unit and the dry bulb temperature of said air are approximately the same because of the high humidifying efiiciency of the humidifying unit 2A. We therefore consider that the expansion unit 51 is being affected by the room dry bulb temperature while the expansion unit 62 is being affected by the wet bulb temperature'of the air as it leaves the humidifying unit.

When the expansion unit 51 is affected by increasing temperatures the rod 58 is lifted up slightly due to the action of the bellows (not shown) inside the element. When the expansion unit 62 is affected by increased temperature the rod 13 is raised slightly. The arm 54 rests upon the rod 13 and is raised by the rod 13 when heat 'is applied to the element 62. The rod 58 does not touch the silver'contact II on the arm 53 but is separated from it by a small air gap i Hi. This air gap can be increased by moving the whole assembly consisting of the element 62, block 60, bushing piece 59 and rod 13 in a direction towards the main arm 52 under the sloping arm 54. This knob 66 and the threaded shaft 65.

When the temperature of the air passing the element 62-decreases the rod 13 allows'the arm 54 to drop slightly and as the arm 54 is connected solidly to the arm 53 through the main arm 52, the arm 53 drops down also and in so doing the silver contact H comes in contact with the silver contact 12 on top of the rod 58. When this connection is made an electrical circuit (Fig. 12) is closed, as will be explained, causing heating current to flow in the electric water heater 20A of the humidifying unit 2A. The application of heat to the water which is beingcircuiated through the water sprays immediately increases the wet and. dry bulb temperatures of the air passing through the humidifier and as humidifying efliciency is high these two temperatures are approximately the same. jThe increased temperature of the air as it leaves the humidifying unit 2A affects the expansion unit 62 and the rod 13 is elevated, this rod elevates 'the arm 54 which causes the main arm 52 to turn and elevate the arm 53. The elevation of'thearm 53 eventually causes theseparation of the silver contact II from the silver contact 12 on top oi the rod 58. This separation interrupts the electrical circuit through which heat is applied to the water and t e .temperature of the air in the pressure duct 3 begins to diminish.

- In order not to risk any chance of condensation in the air circulating system or in the cone boxes a small difierence in temperature of one or two degrees Fahrenheit is maintained between the wet bulb temperature of the air in the mainpressure duct 31 and the dry bulb temperature of the air in the suction duct 38. This difference in temperature is known as the difierential and it is dependant on the size of the air gap allowed between the contact II and the contact 12 on the rod 58. The air gap and the differential is regulated by turning the knob 66 and the threaded shaft 65 as above described. It a high relative humidity is desired in the system a small differential is set and if a low humidity is desireda wide diflerenti lis set. Aslot (not shown) provided with an air tight cover is provided in the-duct 31 to allow the expansion element 62 to manner the temperature of the air in the main suction duct 38 determines the wet bulb temperature of'the air delivered to the main pressure 'duct 31. The difierence between these two temperatures being the diflerential. As the return air in the main suction duct 38 is taken from a large group of cone boxes on the'k nitting machines, and since it has been circulated through these. boxes'and the extensive subsidiary ducts, its temperaturewill be representative of an average of the room. This is the temperature which aifectstheexpansion elementSl' and which con trols the wet bulb temperature of the air delivered' from the humidifying'unit to me humidify- 'ing system It can therefore be seen that this control maintains a'high humidity in thecone boxes at all times but that the humidity is maintained at room temperature and not above itand that condensation is avoided in" this manner. I Several means of adjusting the parts of this conment of the control.

of the cover.

trol are provided. It can be seen that the slope of the arm v54 has a. direct bearing on the adjust- If the arm 54 is horizontal or parallel with the main plate 55 then no move- Y ment howevergreat in a horizontal direction of the element 62, block 60, bushing pieces .59 and The smaller the inclination of the arm 54 to the horizontal the greater the horizontal movement required of the rod 13 towards the arm .52 to change the differential a certain amount. If the angle of inclination of the arm 54 is great only a rod 13 will change the position of the arm :54. l

small horizontal movement of the rod- 13 is necessary totilt the arm 54. Because it is important to be able to adjust the control to give-"a narrow differential we indicate the arm 54 at a slight inclination to the horizontal. This. enables us to turn the knob 66 several turns andyet only change the elevation of the arms 54. and'53 very slightly. This slight change inelevation causes only a slight increase in the difierential between "the two expansion elements 1 62 and 51. The

bushing pieces 55and 59 are threaded and by turning the elements which are rigidly connected to these bushings the relative elevations of the rods- 58 and I3 can be changed. The pointer I22 attached to the block 60 and-the reference scale 1 I23 are provided to enable the operator to select definite points of operation which can always be changed and returned to when desired. The ref erences scale I23 can be marked. in degrees of differential or in percentage humidity. The reference pointer I22 can be taken through the side of the cover 91 as indicated 'orthrough the top Referring to Fig. 12 showing the wiring diagrant of the electric circuit used in conjunction with our automatic control, the two lines 15 and 16 represent the main electrical alternating current feed lines. Current passes through these lines to the field coil 11 of the shaded pole motor and also from these lines by the leads I82 and 9| through the heater 20A; when the mercury switch 81, 93, 93A isin closed position. The lever arm 53 of the control instrument is indicated in this diagram pivoted at I I3 and provided'with the silver contact H which is slightly separated from d the silver contact 12 on the rod 58 by a small air gap 0. When the silver contact ll touches the silver contact 12 on the rod 58 a closed electric circuit is created. If a differenceoi potential exists current can flow from the silver. contact ll to the rod to ground at 83 from ground at 82 through the load 4 to the shading coil 8| to the shading coil 81A and by way of lead. I i5 back to the silver contact ll. The field coil 11 sets up an alternating magnetic fieldin the magnetic core 19 by virtue of the current flowing insaid coil. Byclosing the electrical circuit containing theshading coils 8i and BIA the current induced in these coils by the alternating magneticfield of the magnetic core is permitted to how through i the circuit containing thesaid shading coils.-

Passage of this current :unbalances therotor ior movable part 84 of the sh'aded pole motor, and

causes it to rotate in a clockwise direction. The

gear or pinion 84A is attached to said rotor 84 and turns with it, its teeth being meshed with the geared face 85 of the movable part 85 cause said movable parttorotate' in a counter clockwise direction about the pivot or axis 88. Rotation .of

this movable part 85- causes the mercury bottle 81 to tip and the mercury inside the bottle to.

close the-gap between the two terminals 93 and 93A of the mercury bottle. Closing of the gap between said mercury bottle terminals by the mercury allows current to flow from the main line throughthe lead I82 to the water heater A through the lead 92 to the mercury bottle terminal 93 through the mercury to terminal 93A through lead ill and back to the main line 16. When the' circuit through the shading coils is broken by the creation of an air gap at (I the rocker piece 86 resumes its normal position, under the influence of gravity, which brings the mercury bottle back to the position in which the mercury bottle terminals 93 and 93A are not connected together by the mercury. Current is therefore prevented from' reaching the water heater 20A. The field coil of the shaded pole motor is provided with a much larger number of turns of wire than are the shading coils BI and MA. The voltage induced in the shading coils is therefore very low compared with the voltage of the main lines 15 and I6 and is actually about This low voltage in the shading coil circult is very desirable because it prevents excessive sparking when making or breaking occurs between the silver contacts ll and '12. Low voltage across these parts allows the operation of this type of control with a minimum of trouble.

We have shown here only one electrical form of our invention as applied to full fashioned hosiery machines, but we do not restrict ourselves to this means alone. Obvious modifications of our equipment would be equipment using steamor gas as a heating medium and equipment using compressed air to develop sprays and generate humidity. We therefore do not restrict ourselves to the forms above shown but intend to include other obvious mechanical equivalents and modifications of the same within the scope of our invention.

We have shown in both forms of our invention a return or suction duct system from the cone boxes to the humidifier but we do not restrict ourselves to this form alone but wish to include the obvious modification in which the return or suction duct is dispensed with and in which the air forced through the pressure ducts to the boxes is taken by the humidifying unit directly from the room, the air being forced into the boxes but not recirculated therefrom. In this form of our invention the expansion element 51 is exposed to the room atmosphere so that the wet bulb temperature of the air delivered to the cone boxes is dependent upon the dry bulb temperature of the room which affects the expansion element 51. In this form of our invention the humidified air forced into the boxes is lost after it leaves the boxes and with it of course is lost any heat units and humidity which it contains. The forms of our invention shown in the drawings appear to be superior to this last described form because of the recuperative eflect of recirculating the air I include the form within the scope of our i nvention.

As stated hereinbefore, the dry bulb temperature and wet bulb temperature at the heat expansion element 62 are substantially the same, since the air is substantially saturated. Therefore, no moist covering is needed on the element 62; but it is understood that such covering may In very dry.

be provided, if for instance, it be desired to have the air in the humidifying unit only partially saturated.

All of the species herein are shown with some type of yarn box l8; but in machines such as spinning machines, for instance, where it is not practicable to enclose the rapidly moving spools of yain boxes, instead of the boxes Hi, we may provide nozzles whichblow the moist air from the ducts 5, 5A directly upon the moving spools and the yarn thereon and being drawn therefrom.

While in the great majority of cases highhumidity is required for conditioning textiles, we do not restrict ourselves in our humidifying apparatus to means for increasing the humidity but intend to include means also (when required) for dehumidifying the air by cooling the .water supplied to the humidifying unit, or by stopping the circulation of said water, or by expanding the air circulating in our system by heating it after it isfiltered through our air'washing screen. The water circulated may be cooled by admitting fresh water when necessary, or by passing the circulating water through cooling coils or through heat dissipating radiators.

We intend to include these obvious modifications within the scope of our invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In combination, a yarn chamber; a humidifying unit having means for humidifying with water air passing through the unit; a duct for co ducting air from the unit into the chamber o pass through the chamber; means for causing the air to pass through the unit, duct and chamber; a heater for heating the humidifying water; heat sensitive means in said air between the point of humidification and before its discharge from the chamber and the air after it passes the chamber respectively; and means cooperating with said sensitive means for causing said heater to raise the temperature of the humidifying water whenever the temperature in the duct is at least a predetermined amount lower than the temperature of said air that has passed through the yarn chamber.

2. In combination, a yarn chamber; a humidifying unit having means for humidifying air 'passing through the unit; a pressure duct for conducting air from the unit into the chamber; a suction duct for conducting air from the chamher to said unit;- means for causing the air to' circulate through the unit ducts and chamber; a heater for heating the humidifying water; heat sensitive means in said ducts respectively; and means cooperating with said sensitive means for causing said heater to heat only whenever the temperature in the pressure duct is a small amount lower than the temperature in the suction duct.

3. combination, a plurality of textilemachin yarn supply chambers at the respective mac hes; a humidifying unit having inlet and discharge openings, a water reservoir, means for substantially saturating air passing through the unit with water from said reservoir, whereby the wetand dry bulb temperatures of the humidified air are substantially the same; pressure ducts for conducting air from the discharge opening into the pressure chamber; suction ducts for conducting air from the yarn chamber to said inlet opening; means for causing the air to circulate from said discharge opening through the ducts and chambers back to the-unit; a heater in said reservoir; heat sensitive means in said ducts respectively; and means cooperating with said 2,105,088 sensitive means for causing said heater to heat only whenever the wet bulb temperature in the pressure duct is more than a fixed amount lower than the dry bulb temperature in the suction duct.

4. In combination, a yarn box comprising a pressure chamber and a yam chamber; hollow perforated yarn supports in the yarn chamber and communicating with the pressure chamber; and restricting means in the support for limiting the amount of air passing thereto from the pressure chamber.

5. In combination, a plurality of textile machines; yarn supply boxes at the respective machines; each box comprising a yarn chamber and a pressure chamber; hollow perforated cone supports in the yarn chamber communicating with the pressure chamber and on which cones of yarn are supported, for the yarn to be fed to the machines; a humidifying unit having inlet and discharge openings and means for humidifying air passing through the unit; pressure ducts for conducting air from thedischarge opening into the pressure chamber; suction ducts for conducting air from the yarn chamber to said inlet opening; means for causing the air to pass from said discharge opening through the ducts, chambers, supports, and cones; and a restricting member in the hollow support for limiting the amount of air passing therethrough.

TIMOTHY LYDON.

PATRICK J. LYDON. 

